


The Nightmare and the Daydream

by Joshlerxox



Category: BLURRYFACE - Twenty One Pilots (Album), Bandom, Fall Out Boy, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Bands, Blurryface, Dreams and Nightmares, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay, High School, M/M, Music, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 19:27:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7327333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joshlerxox/pseuds/Joshlerxox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Josh didn’t always dream, but when he did, it was in colour. Vivid pinks, purples, blues, brighter than any colours he knew existed. He loved dreaming; it was an escape."</p><p>"Tyler didn’t always dream, but when he did, it was in monochrome. Black, white, grey, his dreams were even more miserable than his life."</p><p>But when the two meet; things change for the both of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dream's arent real, right?

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So this is my first ever Joshler fanfic, so please go easy on me! I'd love to hear what you guys think, and if you have any requests/ideas for how this story could progress, please let me know! It's still a work in progress, so the story's gonna grow and develop with myself hopefully. Thanks for reading guys!

Josh didn’t always dream, but when he did, it was in colour. Vivid pinks, purples, blues, brighter than any colours he knew existed. He loved dreaming, it was an escape. An escape from the boring, the mundane, the day-to-day. Sure, his life was pretty average, and he couldn’t really complain. He had friends, family, and was getting on pretty well at school. His biggest skill, however, was his drumming. Once he started he just couldn’t stop. It didn’t matter where he was, or who was watching, if you put him with a drum kit, he’d play until he physically could not.

Tyler didn’t always dream, but when he did, it was in monochrome. Black, white, grey, his dreams were even more miserable than his life. He had no friends, struggled in school (not because he lacked intelligence, he simply lacked the will to try), and was constantly fighting with his siblings and father. Life had always been uneventful for Tyler, unpleasant, to say the least, but his dreams only started to turn black and white after his mother died. That’s when he finally stopped caring. There was one thing, however, that deep down Tyler knew he still cared for, and that was music. He loved to play the piano, he could sit for hour after hours playing songs to himself, or his family if they were in a good mood. He also loved to sing, and play ukulele, two things his family were less supportive about. The words “gay”, “pussy”, “pointless”, “lame” and worse were often spat his way if he attempted to sing, so he tended to keep his lyrics to himself, jotting them down night after night in his tattered old notebook.

Josh didn’t always dream, but when he did, there was never any darkness surrounding it. Dreaming was a happy experience for him, an escape, and he didn’t recall every having nightmares. That was, until, he went to sleep on Sunday night. It was early, early for him, anyway, as he knew he had school the next day. He found getting to sleep hard, both because he wasn’t much of a sleeper, and because his friends liked to keep him up all night with their constant messaging, spamming the group chat he was in with pointless comments and ridiculous memes. He didn’t mind it occasionally, sure he had a sense of humour, but he kind of had to draw the line when he was frequently being awoken at 3 in the morning to see a picture of Pepe the Frog with his friend’s Patrick’s face Photoshopped over the frog’s. Nah, he’d rather sleep.

Josh sighed, placing his phone face-down on his bedside table and turning the other way, pulling his blanket far over his head. He yawned sleepily, closing his eyes and hoping that tonight would bring him more sweet dreams. After all, he had the horror known as school tomorrow, he felt like he deserved it. Soon enough he was sleeping peacefully and found himself awakening inside his dream. The usual colours were there, bright, vivid shapes dancing around him like flames in a fire. Flickering in front of him, putting on a show, as he gazed wide-eyed, feeling as though he was sitting front row in the greatest theatre of all time. He watched as his tattoos melted off his arm, and the bright-blue of his hair dripped down his face, escaping onto the canvas of colour in front of him. He didn’t ever want to wake up.

Tyler didn’t always dream, but when he did, there was never any colour. Before Sunday night, that is, when everything suddenly changed. 

Tyler hated sleeping. He usually felt worse after waking up than he did if he just hadn’t slept at all. He usually awoke feeling like a zombie, with the worst migraine known to man (and the pain would range from up, down and sideways). Sundays were always the worst day for Tyler to get to sleep, as the dread of school on Monday was enough to keep his tossing and turning restlessly all night. He called Sunday his “Suicide Day”, as this was usually the day he felt worst about everything. At least when he was at school he would be distracted by teachers and lessons and dodgeballs being flung at him in Gym class, but on Sunday he would sit on his bed curled up and worrying endlessly about what was to come.  
It was 3AM, and Tyler sighed and pulled his cover over his head. He wasn’t tired, but he was tired of worrying, and the growing pit of fear in his stomach was hurting more than ever, so he just wanted unconsciousness. He had sleeping pills that he’d been prescribed by his doctor, but he didn’t believe in medicine. It’d just make him crazier than he already was, and he’d end up relying on it, just like his mother did.  
Tyler closed his eyes, and tried to turn off his brain. If he could stop worrying for even a few minutes, hopefully sleep would catch up with him. Thankfully, he hadn’t slept in a few days so he fell asleep fairly quickly, and soon was thrown into the dark pit of shadows and darkness known as his dreams.  
In his dreams Tyler was always alone. Cold, lost and helpless, he watched as volcanos spewed up thick, black tar. Rivers of dark blood flowed beneath his feet, and scrawny, beady-eyed ravens flapped around his head mockingly, before disappearing into the tangle of trees in the forest up ahead. He opened his mouth to scream, he was so, so terrified, but no sound came out. He was weak, pathetic, he didn’t deserve to be able to protest, he deserved this, all of this. He had killed his mother, and these demons were here to punish him for eternity because of it. That’s what he believed, anyway.

 

Josh was enjoying his dream, allowing the bright colours and happy figures to take him away to a state of happiness and calm, something he rarely felt when awake. But suddenly, the brightness started to fade, and the figures in front of him began to split, distorting themselves as though screaming for help, trying to run. Josh froze, unsure what was happening. He’d never had a dream like this before. Perhaps it was finally his time to have a nightmare. Long overdue, he thought, he most definitely wasn’t worthy of dreams as nice as the ones he’d been having. He was a brash, reckless kid who liked loud music and even louder drumming. His only friends were the school rejects and he spent most of his time skiving class and smoking weed. Not to mention the fact he was, uh, slightly homosexual. Scratch that- a lot homosexual. He knew when he died he’d be going straight to hell, so why was he constantly thrown into dreams about heaven?  
Josh watched as a dark, shadowy figure walked towards him, surrounded by inky mist, possibly human-like. It creeped through the trees of the jet-black forest, like a wolf stalking its prey. It was all black, a hundred different shades, but had a darker neck and hands, and piercing red eyes that burst through its shadowy face. It opened its mouth and screamed.  
Josh shot up out of bed, tearing the blanket away from him. He picked up his phone, checking the time. 5AM. He sighed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He jumped out of bed, knowing that any attempt to sleep again now would be futile. He began getting ready for school, the dark figure from his dream still on his mind.  
Tyler was still walking through the forest, being stalked by rabid wolves and vicious tigers, snarling and snapping at his heels occasionally. He was looking for his treehouse, the one place in his dream he felt slightly less afraid. Underneath the treehouse was mounds of broken glass, fleshy bones and rotten corpses, so he looked away gingerly as he crept up the ladder to the treehouse. As he felt for the last step to climb in, he was suddenly blinded by light, brighter than anything he’d ever seen before. He felt himself jolt, and slip backwards, losing his grip of the step. He closed his eyes tightly, knowing that although he may be dreaming, he still had broken glass and dead flesh waiting for him at the bottom. He suddenly felt someone grab his hand, and he opened his eyes to look into two coffee-brown ones, surrounded by smudged red paint. The man flashed him a smile, and pulled him into the treehouse. Was he some kind of angel?  
“Who are you?” Tyler asked, his voice coming out shakier than intended.  
The bright man just smirked, flashing Tyler his perfect white teeth again. “I’m-“

Tyler woke up. He pulled his cover from his face and sat up suddenly, breathing quickly. He glanced at the clock on his wall. It was 7AM. 

“Shit.” He said quietly. “I’m gonna be late for school.”

Josh stood under the warm running water and closed his eyes, breathing in and out slowly, attempting to calm himself. His dream had been…disturbing, that was for sure, but he wouldn’t say he was scared by it. More…curious. He wanted to know who or what the shadowy figure in his dream had been, and what it meant. He assumed it must mean something, right? It’s not like you could go from dreaming of gumdrops and rainbows to death and despair just like that, something must have triggered it. He sighed, beginning to wash his blood-red hair. He finally got out after what he thought had been ten minutes or so, but a quick glance of his phone told him otherwise.

“Oh shit!” he cursed, grabbing his clothes frantically. He’d been in a lot longer than he’d thought, caught up in working out the meaning of his dreams. “I’m gonna be late for school.”

Tyler walked hurriedly through the corridors, keeping his head down, trying to avoid any hall monitors and the like. He was already ten minutes later for school, so everyone was in class and the teacher had started the lecture. He had maths first thing, on a Monday as well, so it wasn’t like he was desperate to get to class. He was just desperate to not get into any more trouble from his teachers, or the principle, who already hated his guts.

He turned the corner sharply and smacked straight into someone. He jumped back in shock, eyes wide and frantic, praying it wasn’t a bully. He didn’t really suit black eyes and burst lips. He looked at the kid he’d bumped into. He was tall and muscular, with bright red hair and bright brown eyes. He seemed to emit some sort of aura about him, like an angel, or some sort of holy figure. He was beautiful, and Tyler found him mesmerised by him. He’d never seen anyone as lovely in all his life. Tattoos adorned the tall boy’s arms, and dark circles adorned the underneath of his eyes. He looked like he hadn’t sleep in weeks. No wonder he also seemed to be running late.  
“Oh, shit, sorry dude.” The red-haired boy apologised, looking guilty. He side-stepped around him.  
“Wait!” Tyler shouted, surprising even himself. The boy turned around, a curious expression on his face. “Do I…do I know you?”  
Tyler truly did feel he knew this boy somehow, and not just for the obvious reason that they went to the same school. The red-haired boy looked a bit freaked out, probably wondering why the school’s crazy loon was talking in his direction.  
“Uh….I don’t think so?” the boy frowned, squinting at Tyler. “Wait. Didn’t you used to be leader of the Basketball team? My friends Patrick and Andy used to go, before they realised they were, uh, you know, awful.” He flashed Tyler a smirk, and suddenly, last night came rushing back to him.  
“My dream! Dude, you were in my dream! I swear! It was you, he…he looked just like you!” he found the words gushing out before he had a chance to realise what he was saying.  
“I was…in your dream, you say?” the boy raised a perfect eyebrow, looking at him as though he were now even crazier. “Huh. Spooky.” He shrugged. “You’ve probably just seen me around the hallways or something. I don’t blame you for remembering a face like this.” He smiled cheekily. He had the same perfect white teeth that the angel in Tyler’s dream had had.  
“The name’s Josh.” The angel kid put his hand out for Tyler to shake. Tyler awkwardly fist-bumped it back.  
“I’m Tyler.” He looked at his tattered converse as he said it, partly ashamed of his own name. Everyone that knew him just knew him as that crazy depressed kid who moped around all day with his head down.  
“Hey, is that a tattoo?” Josh eyed up Tyler’s wrist, spotting a black band around it.  
“W-what? Oh, that? No…it’s just black sharpie. I really want real tattoos one day though, once I get a job and stuff…” he trailed off.  
“What do you wanna be when you’re older?” Josh asked cheerily.  
Tyler frowned. Did this complete stranger just ask him what he wanted to be when he was older? Even if he had been the weird angel from his dream, it wasn’t like they’d ever actually met before, right?  
“I wanna be in a band.” Josh spoke up, looking all dreamy and misty-eyed. “I play the drums. A lot of my friends are in bands, but they don’t need a drum player. It sucks. So it looks like it’s just me, myself and I for now.” He sighed.  
“I’ll join your band.” Tyler said suddenly, without thinking. “I play piano, and ukulele, oh, and I sing. But, uh..only if you wanna.” He shrugged like he couldn’t care less, when really, this encounter meant everything to him. This was his chance at a new friend, a new hobby, something to take his mind of his mom, his family, basketball, the migraines and nightmares constantly invading his head.  
Josh’s eyes lit up, and a genuine smile crept across his face. “Dude, are you serious? Sick! We can totally be in a band together! All the other bands gather every lunch time in the music room, I’ll meet you there?” Tyler nodded solemnly, holding back a smile of his own.  
“Okay, sweet! Oh, and start thinking of a name for the band! I better get to class now, see ya.” Josh gave Tyler a quick wave and darted round the corner quickly.  
Tyler stood alone in the corridor in shock, still trying to process what had happened. Had he just…socialised with someone? Spoke? Had he…made a friend? He wasn’t sure what had come over him, but perhaps that one bit of brightness in his dream is all he’d needed to boost his spirits. Plus, he’d had more sleep than he remembered having in a lifetime, maybe that’s why he didn’t currently feel like a zombie sloth?

The day seemed to drag on for Tyler, as being shouted at in maths for being late had only soured his mood for the rest of the day. In English, he sat at the back of the room in silence, trying to keep his eyes focused on the teacher at the front of the class but instead finding his eyes being drawn back to the book he was currently reading; the script of the play “All My Sons” by Arthur Miller. It was a play about a man who unintentionally caused the death of twenty-one pilots during World War II by knowingly sent them faulty parts for the good of his business. Tyler often pondered what he’d do if he had been in that situation, and had been responsible for the death of twenty-one other people. He figured he’d probably kill himself, as some sort of sacrifice, but was his life worth that of twenty-one others? He doubted it. Especially if they’d been pilots. 

“Twenty One Pilots?” Josh sounded out the words on his tongue, tasting them. “Not bad. A reference to that play? Yeah, we did that in English too. Well, I like it! I think we have ourselves a name for our band!” he smiled his trademark grin, flashing his teeth at Tyler and looking like an excitable puppy.  
Tyler had suggested that name for the band, he wasn’t sure exactly why, but it seemed to fit. And if Josh liked it, that’s all he cared about. He was sitting on a table in the music room, swinging his legs and looking around, admiring the instruments and music around him. He’d quit music after the first year, his dad had told him he needed to take real academic subjects to get into a good college. He hadn’t argued; after all, he was lucky his father had even allowed him to take Gym Class, despite how much he knew his son loved basketball.  
“How come I never see you around here?” Josh asked, pacing up and down the room and clicking his drumsticks together, eager to start.  
Tyler shrugged, standing up. “I dropped out.” Is all he said. “Why isn’t anyone here, I thought you said all your friends played down here?” he pondered.  
Josh sighed, smiling slightly and rolling his eyes. “There’s a big game on this lunch time, a basketball tournament practice. My friends may be terrible at sport but boy, do they like watching a game and screaming at those poor players.” He laughed. “It’s not really for me though. Plus, I couldn’t let you down man.”  
Tyler smiled gratefully at the taller boy, eyes shining. He was happy at how kind Josh was being, but in the back of his mind, a twang of pain hit. A basketball tournament? He should have been there, leading the team to victory. That’s what he’d used to do, back in the good old days (when his mama sang him to sleep).  
“How come you don’t play no more?” Josh questioned, raising an eyebrow.  
Again, Tyler shrugged. “I dunno.” He said, truthfully. He really wasn’t entirely sure. He’d just kind of stopped everything after his mother had died. He didn’t see the point; he had no one to make proud.  
“Well, being in a band is way cooler anyway. Sports are for nerds.” Josh grinned, heading towards the drum kit.  
“Is that so?” Tyler smirked, sitting down at the piano near the drum kit.  
“Yep, definitely. Now listen to this.” Josh said, and began beating out a steady rhythm on his drum kit, a simple but effective beat that left Tyler tapping his feet along to it.  
“Nice.” Tyler nodded. “But how’s the piano gonna go with your drums?”  
“Uh..well…let me hear you play first, then we can work something out.” Josh suggested.  
Tyler stared down at the piano in front of him, fingers hovering above the keys, shaking. He hadn’t played piano since his mother had died, did he really want to start again now? He bit his lip, looking around anxiously, feeling his breathing deepen.  
“Uh-uh…is there any ukuleles around here?” he asked suddenly, eyes glimmering with hope.  
Josh raised an eyebrow. “Ukeleles? Sure, there should be one in that cupboard over there.” He motioned with his drumstick to the corner of the room. “You wanna play that instead?”  
Tyler nodded, hurriedly grabbing the lonely ukulele from the cupboard. He had his own at home, but he’d never brought it to school before. He took it in his hands, tuning it up before strumming out a few chords.  
“You like Elvis?” Tyler asked Josh, turning to him with a slight blush.  
“Elvis? Yeah, sure. He’s the king of rock n roll man.”  
“He was my Mom’s favourite.” Tyler admitted. “I know one of his songs, so uh, I guess I’ll let you hear me play that?”  
Josh nodded, smiling supportively, and placed his drumsticks on the ground, locking eyes with Tyler.  
Tyler started strumming, eyes focused on the strings although he knew them perfectly by memory.  
“Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can't help falling in love with you…” Tyler’s voice came out as a choke, he hadn’t sung in so long, and he felt his face burn red. Here he was, once leader of the Basketball team, now standing singing Elvis songs to a beautiful boy he had no chance with. What would his dad think? He continued strumming out the chords, trying to push his dad to the back of his head. What would his dad think? Forget him; what would his mom think? He smiled, looking up at Josh with twinkling eyes. His mom would be so, so happy.  
“Shall I stay? Would it be a sin? If I can't help falling in love with you…?”  
Tyler ended, giving a mock bow and blowing a kiss to his “audience”.  
“Dude…that was…sick! You’re amazing at that uke, you totally owned it.” Josh stood up, grinning from ear to ear. “You have a gift! And your voice…dang, I know you said you could sing, but I was not expecting that. With my drumming, and your skill, well, we could really be on to something man!”  
Tyler smiled, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. “Ukulele-drum-piano fusion, you think it’ll work?”  
Josh nodded, raising his hand to high-five Tyler. “I know it’ll work.”  
Tyler shook Josh’s hand.

 

The bell rang to signal the end of lunch, and soon kids began piling into the classroom.  
“What’ve you got now?” Tyler asked, turning to Josh.  
“Music. Pretty handy, heh, no walking for this guy.” He pointed to himself triumphantly.  
“Dang. Well, I’ve got Chemistry, so I better get going.”  
“You know what? I think we have chemistry.” Josh smirked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.  
Tyler felt his face burn red, glancing away awkwardly. “He means music-wise dude, calm down.” He told himself.  
“Yo! Dunn!” a voice shouted suddenly, and Tyler’s thoughts were interrupted by a group of guys walking towards him and Josh. “Who’s this? Your new boyfriend?” the unknown boy smirked. He was short and wearing thick black glasses, as well as sporting a “Dat Boi” T-shirt. Wasn’t that meme like, totally outdated though?  
Josh rolled his eyes, his own cheeks burning red slightly. “Shut up Stumpy, this is just my friend, Tyler. We’re in a band now.” He nodded proudly.  
“A band? Damn. What’s it called? Fall Out BYE?” another boy suddenly appeared, laughing loudly and high-fiving Patrick.  
“No, Andy, for your information-“ Josh started.  
“Uh, how did the game go?” Tyler interrupted, looking at the two new boys.  
“Oh, it was hilarious man, everyone was AWFUL. I’ve never seen such bad basketball playing in all my life!” Andy turned to high five Patrick yet again.  
“What, not even when you looked in a mirror that time you and Stump were playing?” Josh teased.  
“Oh ha-ha, sooo funny.” Patrick sighed, rolling his eyes. “But in all seriousness, it was kinda embarrassing to watch. What happened to the team’s old captain? Wasn’t he like, crazy-good? We used to always win those tournaments.”  
Tyler felt his palms begin to sweat, as he waiting for them to clock that it was him and suddenly make things crazy-awkward. “I..uh..I gotta go. I have Chemistry.” Tyler blurted out quickly, gathering his bag and heading for the door.  
“See ya later Ty.” Josh gave him a wave, before turning back to his friends.  
Tyler tried to listen in to Josh’s group’s conversation as he left, fearful they were going to start talking about him. He was used to the rumours, the mean whispering, but he hated the thought of Josh hearing any of the rumours about him.  
“So, Josh, you coming round for videogames and pizza tonight?” Patrick asked.  
“Nah man, I gotta practice my drums. That Tyler dude is crazy-good, I really gotta get on his level or he’s gonna kick me out the band I swear.” Josh laughed.  
“Dude seriously? You’re bailing on pizza and videogames for that guy?” Andy questioned, sounding disappointed.  
“He’s not just “that guy”.” Josh argued. “He’s…my friend. He’s chill.” 

Tyler couldn’t hold back the smile on his face as his practically skipped to Chemistry. He was Josh’s friend! He was worth bailing on videogames and pizza for! He felt his heart beat loudly in his chest, and he felt positively radiant, as gay as that sounded. “I did it, Ma.” He whispered quietly, looking up towards the sky. “I’m gonna get better.”


	2. Who is Blurryface, and why does he want me dead?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for all the comments and kudos for chapter one! If you haven't guessed already, this is gonna be one of those lame High School AUs filled with fluff and angst and all that good stuff. Enjoy reading this, and enjoy the rest of your day!

Tyler sat in the back of his physics class. He finished the work easily with more than half of the lesson remaining, so he opened his book and read it to the end. As it turned out, the man responsible for the death of the twenty-one pilots did in fact commit suicide at the end of the book. Tyler wondered what that meant for himself, in the grand scheme of things.  
He went home that night excited. Excited to sleep, for the first time in his life. He wanted to dream again, dream of the glowing angel that he had now identified as Josh Dun. Tyler longed to sit in the treehouse with him, and talk, and smile, and laugh, and maybe actually be happy again.  
Tyler went to bed early that night, around 12pm. He closed his eyes, and fell asleep almost instantly.  
Josh, meanwhile, was restless. He lay tossing and turning in bed all night, unable to sleep. This was the norm for him, but still, something felt off. He should have been tired that night, he'd spent the whole evening practicing his drumming, much to the dismay of his parents and siblings. He'd also been looking up Elvis songs, and famous Ukulele players. He was dedicated to his newfound friendship, he couldn't deny. Tyler seemed...special. Different. Unlike anyone or anything he'd ever come across before. 

He couldn't distract himself by texting his friends or listening to music or watching funny cat videos on YouTube. He couldn't do anything. And so he lay there, still, unblinking, in bed, until he finally fell asleep. 

Tyler blinked, looking around. He was finally asleep, and dreaming. He looked up, and there was the treehouse. He climbed it eagerly, dark shapes and shadows wriggling around him, whispering in his ear, mocking him and telling him he was going to fall. But he didn't. He made it to the top, where he could see the bright golden glow he recognised from the night before.  
It was Josh, that much was certain, but he seemed different. Brighter, more angelic. His hair and eyes sparkled brighter, his smile was wider, and huge, snow-white feathery wings erupted from his back. He was an angel.  
"Josh?" Tyler spoke quietly, eyes wide.  
"Hey." Josh smiled widely, eyes crinkling at the corners.  
"What are you...what are you doing here? In my dreams?" Tyler asked, sitting down gingerly on the wooden floor of the treehouse.  
Josh just laughed, showing off his bright white teeth. "Oh Tyler." He rolled his eyes. "I'm not here! I'm just a figment of your over-active imagination, isn't that obvious?"  
"Oh. Right. Yeah." Tyler frowned, looking around awkwardly.  
"Hah! Syke! I'm here because you're rad, obviously!" Josh grinned suddenly, ruffling Tyler's hair. "I'm like, your guardian angel or something, I'm here to look after you. I won't let him hurt you, Tyler. Not anymore."  
Tyler knew exactly who "him" was. Blurryface. The evil demon who had haunted his dreams ever since his mother had died. 

"So, Blurryface is gone now? For...good?" Tyler asked quietly.

Josh nodded solemnly. "Yup. You don't need to worry anymore, Ty! It's just you, me, and this sick treehouse now! Now c'mere..." He brought Tyler close to him, embracing him in a hug, white, feathery wigs enveloping him with warmth.  
Tyler woke up suddenly, breathing heavily once again. Why were his dreams now so short? He smiled softly to himself, he couldn't complain. He'd never had such a dream in all his life. Josh was magical, beautiful, almost as amazing as his own mother. He'd never been so happy in a long time.  
He checked the time. 7am.  
"Shit." He scowled, jumping out of bed. "I'm gonna be late for school again."

For once in his life, however, Tyler Joseph was less than ten minutes late to class. He was only five minutes late to his first class, English, and was actually looking forward to class for once. They'd be studying the play, and Tyler now knew a lot about it and had discovered a new-found passion for it. After all, his band WAS named after it. As he approached the door to his class, he heard a voice call him from behind.  
"Ty, hey." A tired-looking Josh gave him a small wave. 

"Josh, hey!" Tyler smiled, walking towards him. "You okay fren?"  
Josh shook his head, running a hand through his unruly pink hair. "I didn't get the best sleep last night. It sucked."  
Tyler frowned, looking in concern at his new friend.  
Josh seemed disheartened by Tyler's sad puppy-dog look, however, as he quickly forced a smile and flashed him his teeth.  
"But! I did get a tonne of practice last night! I can't wait to jam with you again dude." Josh grinned.  
Tyler smiled. "Sweet. Glad to see you're committed to the band, Jish." Tyler smirked.  
Josh rolled his eyes. "Not everyone can be as naturally talented and amazing as you, Tyler Joseph." He muttered, hitting him playfully on the shoulder. "Well, I better get going to class-" Josh started.

"Wait, no!" Tyler knew it was crazy, but he...he wanted to feel like he was dreaming again, just for a bit. "You wanna hang out instead?" 

 

Josh raised an eyebrow. "Tyler Joseph, are you proposing we skip class together?" A cheeky smirk creeped across his face.  
Tyler shrugged, giving him a slight nod. "Only if you wanna." 

 

Josh laughed. "Of course I wanna. I have pre-calc first, screw that shizz!" He put an arm around Tyler and began leading him in the opposite direction. 

Tyler had a slight nagging feeling at the back of his mind. He'd never skipped class before, and now, here he was, skipping his first period class with a tall, pink haired boy he knew very little about. What would his dad say if he found out? What would his mom think? He looked around guiltily, as though she were watching him at that very moment, sitting next to God and shaking her head in disgust at her sinner of a son. 

Tyler shook his head quickly, hitting the back of his head angrily. "No, no, no!" He muttered loudly to himself. It was just Blurryface, trying to upset him, the voice wasn't his, it couldn't be. 

"Uh..you okay bro?" Josh frowned, pulling away from Tyler and staring at him. 

Tyler forced a smile, nodding. "Yeah, sorry. Just...Nothing." He took Josh's hand, gaining him a surprised look from the tattooed boy. "Hey, Josh Dun, you wanna be friends with me, right?" 

Josh smiled, looking at Tyler with a slightly bewildered expression. "I thought we already were friends, Tyler Joseph." 

"I, uh, yeah, I know. Just checking." Tyler laughed nervously, loosening his grip on Josh's hand.

Josh tightened his own grip, pulling Tyler along. "Follow me. I know just the place we can chill."  
The two walked along the music corridor, and Josh stopped when they emerged at what looked like the door of a large cupboard.  
"Uh...Jish? Are we going to Narnia or something?" Tyler questioned, looking up at Josh as he produced a small silver key from his pocket.  
"Nope, nowhere as cool as that. But.." He opened the door with the key, turning the light on once inside. "If you like dusty music sheets and broken instruments, just call this heaven." He smirked, sitting down on the floor inside and motioning for Tyler to do the same.

Tyler slowly shut the door, cautiously sitting on the hard floor next to Josh. 

"The music teacher gave me a key for here, in case I ever need extra drum sticks or anything. But she doesn't get here till after recess, so we have until then to chill." Josh smiled, looking somewhat proud of himself. 

Tyler looked around, squinting his eyes against the harsh artificial light. It wasn't a tree house, but he supposed it was something. 

"So, Josh-" Tyler started, but was interrupted by Josh yawning. 

"Sorry dude, I'm just so hecking tired." Josh leaned back against the dusty shelves, massaging his temples. 

Tyler frowned, all fantasies of passionate make-out sessions and frantic sex immediately killed. It seemed as though his morning was going to consist of watching Josh Dun sleep in a dingy, bad-smelling storage cupboard. He shrugged, it could be worse, he guessed.

"How come you're so tired? Too much drumming?" Tyler questioned, gazing over at Josh, who had his eyes closed. He opened one eye, muttering something unintelligible.

Truth was, he'd had the worst sleep of his life last night, and had woken up more panicked and flustered than he'd ever felt in his life. It'd been awful. And that...that creature, that thing, it'd been there again. The blurry figure with the glowing red eyes.

Josh's dreams had always been the same. Bright, bold colours, warm faces, familiar locations, a calm, chill environment. But ever since Sunday evening, his dreams had been awful, like the worst nightmares imaginable. The colours had faded, bleeding down the canvas of his dreams and leaking thick, black tar that his feet got stuck in. The sky turned grey, the grass withered and the trees decayed. The animals died or went rabid, and everyone's smiles had disappeared, replaced with sinister grins or pained grimaces. It felt like something his friend, Gerard Way, would have wet dreams about. But despite Josh's emo-like appearance, he honestly did prefer fluffy kittens and Taco Bell to death, darkness and endless suffering. But this seemed to be what his dreams had now become, thanks to the weird, blurry guy who was constantly invading his brain. Who was he, and why did he hate Josh so much? 

Josh opened his other eye, glancing over at Tyler. He pondered on telling Tyler about his dreams, but he decided against it. Tyler had enough shit to deal with in his life, he seemed like a total headcase, even if he was pretty cool. Josh remembered hearing that Tyler's mom had died, it'd been almost a year ago and everyone was talking about it. Tyler had once been the captain of the basketball team, and one of the "cool kids". He wore tacky trainers and baggy vests, always dribbling a basketball around or laughing and joking loudly with his group of insanely attractive friends. He even dated cheer captain Jenna briefly, and they had been the school's hottest couple. 

Unlike the other popular kids, however, Tyler wasn't a total jerk and didn't act as if he was better than anyone else. He held doors open for people, let people copy his homework, and was always inviting people to watch his basketballs games, people who usually wouldn't even be glanced at by the cool kids. The nerds, the rejects, Tyler didn't see them as that. He saw everyone as a person, deserving of love and respect. That was, until his mother died. That's when Tyler silently decided that maybe he didn't like God quite so much, after all. And that even being a good person like his mother had been wouldn't save you from death. It'd take anyone, anytime, and didn't care about the aftermath. 

Blurryface had been the aftermath for Tyler. A year later and he was still as relentless as ever, keeping Tyler awake at night, whispering in his ear, creeping around his bedroom, staring at him as he showered or ate. Everyone always said how sorry they felt for Tyler, how he was always alone. But he wasn't alone, he had Blurryface. And Blurryface was enough to make Tyler really wish he was alone.

But Josh...Josh was different. He was an angel; Tyler had seen him in his dreams! He knew it was a sign, possibly from his mother, or God himself..? It was a sign, a sign that Josh Dun was a good man and an honest man and someone who would look after Tyler and stop any harm that could come to him. Tyler trusted him, for some crazy reason, and he wanted Blurryface to know it. Blurryface wasn't the only person in his life anymore, and so, for the second time in a year, Tyler was happy.


End file.
